Stargate Universal Sin Episode 10
by Lone-ranger1
Summary: The Coup is over, Atlantis is safe beneath the waves. Only a few hours remain for the final showdown and the expedition must make its decisions. Pain is universal, you can't outrun your sins. Our heroes bleed and tend to their wounds... of all types.
1. Chapter 1

**Episode 10 – Penultimate**

_A/N: This is a total character episode. A little shorter than those previous, but I think it's nice and emotional. Some faces you might recognize appear as well :D_

_One more episode after this… and maybe… just maybe a followup series (Episodes won't be nearly as long, but I've got some ideas already) There's a little teaser at the end of this fic about where I would take the series if I continue it beyond the next episode (the Finale of this virtual half season) I'd really like some thoughts on what I'm thinking to see whether I should go with it or not. ._

_Oh and uh… about Chuck… yeah. I lubs the Chucknician! (the fact that I'm Canadian and a technician of sorts has nothing to do with it! I swear! ;) )_

_As always, thank you to all readers and especially reviewers! Y'all make my day!_

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"_Whew_… I was _not_ expecting that…" Larrin snickered and let her body relax on the bed. "…never had someone so… _considerate."_

"Part of my heritage; can't help it…" Chuck's reply was flirtive and utterly devoid of shame.

Larrin had just recovered and still felt the high in her body. Snickering, she gave Chuck an elbow to the chest and giggled as the play fought "Where'd you say you're from again?"

Chuck groaned softly as he felt Larrin's toes dance along his calf. "Canada."

"What's it like there?"

Shrugging, Chuck pulled Larrin closer and let his hands wander. "Ohh not much different than the planets here… forests, mountains… all we're missing is the 8 months of winter and an igloo." Chuck snickered knowing Larrin wouldn't appreciate the dry Canadian humor.

Larrin snorted and turned to reach for her bra as she wiggled out of Chuck's grasp. "Oh so that explains it."

Raising an eyebrow, Chuck simply stayed where he was and smiled looking at Larrin's bare back. "Explains what?"

Quickly getting dressed, Larrin deadpanned. "Where you learned to stay warm like that."

Laughing, Chuck reached out to pull Larrin back into the bed. "Where you going?"

"I'm getting dressed and making sure my people are okay... I'd love to go for round 4…" she giggled and smacked Chucks hand away as she looked around for her pants in the dark. "…but there's still shit to do."

Chuck knew she was right, and after such a strenuous workout, he could appreciate some light duty work. "Want some company?"

Larrin sighed softly and turned to him. "Don't fall in love Chucky…" She leaned back and gave Chuck a little kiss. "We agreed… this doesn't mean anything."

"Doesn't mean I can't care." Chuck pulled her in for another kiss and let his hand wander down again. "Go… any luck and we'll have plenty of time later…"

Chuck gave Larrin's behind a few pats as he pushed her out of the bed. Larrin laughed hard and backhanded him playfully across the face. Neither said anything else as Larrin pulled the pants she'd found on the floor up and headed out.

Wanting to catch up on sleep, Chuck passed out and slept peacefully till morning. He finally got up, looked around his trashed room… and realized that Larrin had gotten back at him in a rather peculiar way.

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"Thanks…" Sam accepted the canteen and took a swig. "… we need to move fast… the scans Daedalus took of that Superhive don't look good."

John nodded, and looked over to where Major Marks was busy unlocking more parts of the ships datacore. "No… they don't." He kept his gaze on the man who had told Caldwell that his only regret was defying his orders... "Marks brings us up to 8 people from Earth total. Ronon's team is catching some rack time and Zelenka is working on the Wormhole Drive with Mila. Chuck should be in the control room with Larrin and…"

Sam could see John was uncomfortable thinking about everyone else. "And everyone else is still in that tower…"

The entire marine contingent and civilians that didn't join them had been detained in one of the towers surrounding the main one. Power had been cut to the transporters and the Travelers were keeping a very watchful eye on them. John sighed and nodded. "Yeah… I got them to help me carry one of those giant crates of MRE's and snacks to them so they're okay as far as food…" It was a hard thing to think of.

"That's good… hopefully we've got enough time to get them all back home before we take off…"

Major Marks moved in from the side with a slightly dejected tone. "Hey."

"Hey." Both Sam and John replied with somber nods. "What's up?"

"Not the ship that's for sure…" he sighed as he sat and rubbed his eyes. "… she needs a week and a half in the shipyard. That Superhive tore us to hell and it's a miracle we got through alive."

Sam reached forward and gave the Major a squeeze of his shoulder. She didn't really know what to say but she was so glad that someone as knowledgeable as Marks had decided to join them.

John simply nodded and sighed. "Wish I could send her back home… It's gonna be months before we can fix her…" He neglected to mention the _'That's if we live that long.'_

It didn't need to be said though, and Marks looked around with nostalgia. "Doesn't feel the same… don't think it ever will…"

The three military minds were all troubled. John kept his voice low as he asked. "Look… I'm glad you're helping… but…"

"Why?" Marks deadpanned it, a shit eating grin on his face.

Sam shrugged around and nodded. "Well… yeah."

"… I lost a lot of friends on Apollo…" Marks spoke seriously, his voice bereft of emotion other than wrath. "… and ever since, we've been kicking ass and getting our asses kicked… I'm not gonna run away and even if it means leaving Earth…"

It was perfectly understandable, Sam had been through a lot with the Major and knew he wasn't one to abandon his post no matter the circumstances. "I understand…"

John nodded as well and sighed. "Guess we're the new command staff… I'm gonna see how Larrin's doing… you two gonna be okay?"

Marks nodded and accepted the canteen Sam handed him. "There's no chance of repairing the ship with just us… I'm just gonna unlock all of Caldwell's codes and…" he stopped for a moment and winced. "Well… we'll see what we can do."

Looking to Sam, he saw the same face he'd woken up to this morning, a strange mix of despair, relief, and… something else… something he wasn't sure he wanted to see. He was about to ask if she was okay, but thought better of it. "Call if you need anything. Travelers have offered their help and I think since we're basically on our own now, we should take it."

Sam took a deep breath, and she too saw the same face she'd woken up to. John's eyes were caring, full of sorrow, and the hint of that little something that had grown between them that scared her. What had she gotten herself into? "Agreed… they've been good so far and once we know who's staying and who's going… I think we should try and work out some kind of command structure with them to keep the city running."

It was inevitable, what was the point of getting away if there was nothing left to do? John turned his head away and shook his head. "Later… for now… lets just deal with this one crisis at a time…"

He began to leave, but Sam got up and shrugged. "Let's walk and talk…"

Marks looked up and noticed the awkwardness between the two, but quickly put it down to the insanity going on around them. The main concern he had was the ship he'd called home for the past 3 years and helping anyway he could.

John shifted uncomfortably, but realized that Sam wanted to talk about… _that._ "Uhh… yeah… yeah…" He motioned and began to walk quickly, not wanting to dwell on the fact that there was this _something_ between them now.

They quickly moved out into the hallways of the ship, empty of all but damaged bulkheads, exposed wiring, and the permanent smell of burning plastic. "John…"

John didn't slow down, and barely turned his head. "Yeah?"

"… John… look at me…"

Sighing, John slowed down and turned to face her. They hadn't said a word when they'd woken up, both just awkwardly going their separate ways on the base… now didn't seem like a great time to talk either. "What?"

The friendship they had was being strained to the limit. "I… I know we said we weren't going to talk about this now…" She sighed and looked to the side, unable to look John in the eyes. "…I just want to know that we will… eventually."

Hard questions were the pick of the week, and John bashfully rubbed the back of his neck. "I…I…" he froze, now looking at how Sam seemed like his words were hurting her. "I don't know Sam…"

Sam finally turned back to him, but kept her head down as she spoke. "I… I don't know either John…" She finally looked up and smiled softly. "Least we're on the same page huh?."

Realizing that it was hurting Sam as much as it was hurting him, John sighed heavily and closed his eyes. "… we'll talk Sam… I promise…"

Sam remembered what had happened that morning. Waking up in John's arms and wanting to just stay there. Part of her wishing it was a dream… the other part wishing it wasn't. But at the same time she felt horrible for doing such a thing… doing exactly what Jack had resisted for so long… lack of rules be damned this was about integrity! She'd tried to get up without waking John but it was futile, and they'd had a really awkward moment as Sam laced up her boots before leaving his room without a word.

Neither wanted to talk about it, but it was obvious both needed to. "…don't promise me something you won't do." Sam knew from experience that saying you would talk about something and actually talking were two very different things. It had angered her to think of it and Sam had turned away.

John wasn't about to leave it at that though and he reached out and held her shoulder. "… I _always_ keep my promises."

Sam closed her eyes and breathed deeply, holding in her emotion. She gently took his hand and squeezed. "I hope so."

With that, Sam let go and walked back to discuss their full plans with Marks. John sighed and rubbed his forehead as he turned away. He'd always thought that when the time came that he was genuinely attracted to a woman beyond their body he'd be able to talk… but it hadn't happened with Nancy… it hadn't happened with Elizabeth… and it hadn't happened with Teyla… Why should this be any different?

But that was just it… this _was_ different… no other woman had _ever_ seen him at his weakest… but then again no one knew what Sam knew about him.

John had no doubt that Sam wasn't as frosty as she usually was either… and he wondered exactly when friendship and trust became something else.

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"Yer shittin' me… you want me to bring you _what?"_

Chuck's voice on the other end of the private line was embarrassed. "_Pants sir… it's… complicated_."

Never having run out of pants himself despite losing them quite often on missions, John scratched his temple and was curious as to what the hell happened to the laid back sergeant. "Explain!"

John heard Chuck sigh, and then his bashful voice lowered a tone. _"…okay… look… is Larrin there?"_

"Yeah… and you should be here too!"

"_Notice what she's wearing?"_

John turned to look at Larrin… she looked quite normal… actually… she didn't look _quite_ as alluring as she typically… "Wait… What the hell? Why is she wearing expedition…" It slapped John like a bag full of hammers. Larrin usually wore tight black pants… not grey loose… wait… _Those were Chuck's pants!_ "…uhh… Chuck…?"

"_Yes sir?"_

"Why is Larrin wearing your pants?"

A sheepish laugh, and Chuck kept his voice down. _"Yes uhh… well… you know what it's like sir… in the dark… feeling around…"_

John _really_ didn't want to hear this, but in his heart he was glad the technician as well as Larrin had been able to release some stress. "Nyah! Yes yes! Say no more…" John felt a pang of jealousy, but seeing Larrin give him a slightly flirtive look and motion with her head to come over, figured there must be some reasonable explanation. "I'm guessing she took your last pair?"

"_Yes sir… and I'm __not__ going out with her pants."_

It was a horrible mental image. Chuck wasn't a big guy, but with skin tight black pants… _*Shudder*_. "Yeah yeah… I can _totally_ understand that… I'll uhh… I'll swing by in a few minutes…

"_Thank you sir…"_ Chuck remained quiet a minute and then spoke again quietly. "_…you're… you're not… mad... are you?"_

Mad didn't even begin to describe it. A good hard sexing would probably relieve the stress John had now, but instead the only relief he got was feeling Sam cuddle up last night in an awkward embrace. If anything, that only _added _to his stress.

If John were an angry man, Chuck would certainly be in danger. "Nah… a little jealous maybe, but I'm not mad." Larrin was her own woman, and John didn't have a monopoly on the galactic Casanova ways.

A sigh of relief, and Chuck said. _"Thanks sir… I'll be waiting."_

John shut the link off and moved over to where Larrin had figured out how to use the life signs detector the city used. "Nice pants." There was little patience left in him, and he wanted to get it out in the open that he knew and didn't really care. Truthfully, it was a little disappointing, but Larrin quickly snapped him into a new reality.

Larrin shrugged and kept tapping controls learning to use the system. "Coulda been yours… still can be." She smiled and shook her head idly as John gave her a strange look. "God you people are such prudes. I heard you slept with Sam last night and that's _all_ you two did." She giggled to herself seeing John's suddenly blushing face. "Don't look so surprised! I had a guard outside your room and when you never showed I asked around." Larrin turned in her chair and gave John a hard suggestive stare. "Don't worry… I won't tell Sam…"

John groaned softly and rubbed his forehead. "_Please_ don't… it's… _complicated_… she already kicked my ass once and I'd rather not go for round 2."

"I getcha… your people are so strange. Like…" Larrin lowered her voice out of respect for John's blushing skin. "…_it's just sex_… not like we're getting married or soul mates or something… from what I've heard you might understand me."

Shrugging around, it wasn't something John was comfortable talking about with just anyone. "Kinda… ten thousand years in space and…" he stopped, realizing that he was stereotyping her whole people. Whether it was right or not, it was still offensive. "I mean… yeah sex is just sex… but when there's more… it's not just sex anymore." He couldn't really word it properly, discussing this with Larrin was getting him closer and closer to an aneurism. "Look… I know what you mean. I'm not against that sort of thing… just…"

Larrin lost a bit of her smile. "…You care about her."

Sighing dejectedly, John clenched his jaw. "…I care about a lot of people…" he looked at Larrin and wordlessly told her with his eyes that she was included. "…and a lot of those people are under guard waiting for what we're gonna do to them."

Seeing that he was a lot more tormented than she expected, Larrin sighed a bit and saw that her typical tough girl attitude was only going to aggravate him more. "You want me to tell them the plan?"

Shaking his head, John said. "No… I'll do it… just… please… don't tell Sam any of this shit okay?"

Larrin nodded and waved him closer. "Come here…"

"What?"

"_Come here!"_ Larrin wasn't about to be patient and pulled John into a hug. John accepted it readily and wondered exactly what was going to happen in the next few days… let alone weeks and months. "You need anything you just tell me. Don't think I don't appreciate you doing this."

Larrin's hand slid into the back of John's pants and gave him a little squeeze. He flinched from the sudden feeling accidentally bumping the front of his hips to hers and looked down at Larrin's smiling face. His tone was a mix of defeated and appreciative. "…I don't."

Snickering, Larrin turned him around and gave his butt a few pats pushing him away. "Go… Chuck needs pants."

Raising his eyebrows, John turned to Larrin who tapped her headset. He groaned softly knowing that things were likely to get even more awkward before they got better.

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"Major… least one of you guys kept your wits about you."

Lorne groaned as he woke up in the holding cell along with Caldwell. "Wouldn't say that much… I'm guessing Sheppard's already talked to you?"

Caldwell helped Major Lorne up and sat him on the bench the Travelers provided. "Yeah… can't say I agree with his methods, but his heart's in the right place."

"Yeah… same here…" Major Lorne sighed and rubbed his head. "How long was I out?"

Sitting down across from him, Caldwell pulled out an MRE from the box the travelers had left him with. "A few hours I'm guessing. They dropped you off in the middle of the night when I was sleeping. Don't know where they took Major Marks."

"He was here?"

"Yeah… Sheppard talked to us and then left us alone." Caldwell knew his 2IC had joined Sheppard. Kevin Marks was loyal, but he was also more human and just might have…

"Ronon told me he joined em…" Lorne held his head and wondered exactly when he'd gotten stunned. "Something about Apollo."

Sighing, Caldwell cursed under his breath. "Figured… Sheppard might be a pisspoor soldier… but he's a great leader."

Lorne opened the MRE and looked at the foodstuff inside. "Yeah… and I'm worried the others will listen to him,"

"Are you? Really?" Caldwell looked hard at Major Lorne and clenched his fists in frustration. "You've served with him a long time Major… you've lived here just as long. Why?"

Smirking sardonically, Major Lorne sighed as he picked at the food inside. "Why I'm here instead of out there?"

Caldwell nodded and shrugged. "I'm a little surprised to be honest… I'da thought you'd be standing right by him."

"Honestly…" Major Lorne stretched his neck as he muttered "…wouldn't look too good for the rest of the base if the entire command staff mutinies."

Raising both eyebrows, Caldwell sat up straight. "Wait… the _entire_ command staff? So Sheppard didn't stun Carter and toss her into a closet?"

Lorne froze with a chunk of food 2 inches from his mouth. "_What!?"_

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"The whole Scooby Gang's here huh?" Dusty chuckled to herself, but seeing the others stare her down relented. "Sorry."

John at the head of the table sighed and cracked his knuckles by forcing a fist. "Don't worry 'bout it… this does feel pretty cartoonish." He looked around at the conference room where the entire crew that had mutinied now sat except for Daniel and Teyla.

Sam sat to his right, silent and obviously still feeling distraught. To _her _right, Major Marks had taken a seat and remained quiet as well. Further still, Ronon sat with Dusty leaning back on the wall.

To his left, Radek sat with Mila and Larrin. The furthest edge of the table held Chuck, as well as Alicia and Drake. The entire Scooby Gang indeed thought John.

They'd all gotten bedrest and looked much fresher. "I've been keeping the whole plan from a lot of you… that's because I honestly didn't know where the hell we're going to go."

To his side, Radek pushed up his glasses and fingercombed his hair. He'd recently gotten a haircut from Mila who insisted he looked like a strangled cat. Now he looked much cleaner cut, and almost professional. The diminutive engineer proudly smiled, almost as if Radek were her creation.

The Czech scientist got up and used a remote to turn on the screen behind them. "Yes… as you can see, the Wormhole drive theoretically has no limit since it uses a subspace folding technology in conjunction with…" On the screen it showed something similar to a Stargate activation only much larger.

Beside him, Mila groaned and smacked him on the side, The young woman had been quarantined during the coup and didn't know about how bad it had gotten. Her cheer helped to inspire those around her. "It's like a giant ring of the ancestors! It'll take most of the power we've got now with the Ancestral Potentia, but we can go _anywhere_."

Radek shrugged, now immune to the young woman's lapses into impulsiveness. "Basically yes… the drive has no limit as far as distance as long as accurate coordinates are used. The power difference between a distance of say 3 million lightyears and 3 _billion_ light years is negligible due to the effect of subspace folding."

Sam blinked a few times and considered it. Very few people in the room, probably only her and Radek understood what he was talking about. There was a saying that you can't pull a string in string theory, but certainly this discredited that saying. "Radek… are you sure this drive will work? What about subspace turbulence?" She made no mention that it was actually Rodney who told her about this.

Both Radek and Mila looked to each other and furrowed their brows. "Hmm… had not considered that…" The Czech shook his head to clear his thoughts and continued. "In any case… the only limitation is accurate coordinates. There are variables as well including gravitational lensing and the path through subspace we would take … but while we may not fully understand the drive, it is simply a matter of turning it on and feeding accurate coordinates."

The entire group stirred, now came the hard part. John nodded and called for attention. "Alright… so now comes the hard part… Where do we go?"

Radek clicked his remote again and now the image of several galaxies showed. "I've been able to calculate accurate coordinates for the following galaxies… The Milky Way obviously, as well as the Ida Galaxy. The other three are galaxies from the Ancient Database that have mention in the database as being studied by the Ancients."

Larrin furrowed her brow and leaned over to look. "Three Galaxies? So it's possible they could even _be_ there?"

"Highly unlikely… these two have only mentions of seeding Stargates, while this third…" he pointed to a ring galaxy that looked oddly familiar to Sam. "… has mention of actual study and outposts not unlike the one in Antarctica on Earth."

Sam couldn't help it and had to ask. "Radek… correct me if I'm wrong… but isn't that Hoag's Object?"

The scientists nodded and smiled sarcastically. "Apparently the Ancients found it interesting as well."

Feeling rather left out, Major Marks furrowed his brow and deadpanned. "Hoag's Object? You've seen this thing?"

Sam nodded and motioned. "Yes… it's a Galaxy that we've been studying back on Earth for years…" She paused to collect her thoughts, unwittingly adding dramatic effect. "…it's about half a billion light years away."

The entire group became uneasy. Major Marks gulped and kept his voice civil. 'Half a _billion?_ As in 500 million light years? That's two years even _with _a ZPM in Daedalus!"

John had the math flowing through his head and muttered. "One point eight actually… in any case… it certainly keeps us safe from the Wraith, Replicators, or even the IOA…" He noticed an uncomfortable shifting from the higher ranked mutineers. "… listen… I know this is asking a lot… already we're damned but I'm not going to force anyone to do something they don't want to…" He looked around the table and gave Sam a particularly apologetic look. "I'm putting this out now… if any of you want to go home… I won't stop you."

No one spoke, no one even dared move. John felt what so many leaders before him had when faced with loyal to the bone soldiers. Captain Vega leaned forward and spoke though. "You mean the planet where a bald dick like Woolsey can try and take over this place? No thanks. I'd rather take my chances with this wormhole drive than take orders from _them_ anymore."

The others in the room nodded silently, all except for Sam who simply sighed softly and kept quiet. John nodded to Vega and couldn't help but smile. "Thank you….all of you…" He took a moment to take in that this was going to be his new crew… and possibly more once he announced his full plans to the rest of the base. "Alright, let's move on. The Wraith are up there most likely waiting for that Superhive…" he turned to Sam and motioned with his hand. "Sam?"

Sam nodded and leaned forward instead of getting up. "The scans Daedalus took of the Superhive show a massive amount of power coming from it. I've talked to Major Marks," she motioned to her right. "…and we both agree… that Hive has a ZPM as its power source… possibly two."

Everyone on the room remained silent, and finally after 5 seconds Radek muttered. "Good lord… that means…"

Sam nodded and continued. "Yes… from all our archived data, the weakest point of Wraith technology is lack of efficient power generation. With a ZPM, they can regenerate their hull at an exponential rate. That's why it took the firepower from 6 Auroras and Daedalus to even disable its hyperdrive. This thing is a match even for Atlantis in space combat."

Nobody said a word. The thought of the Wraith having such a powerful weapon was terrifying. Ronon leaned forward and growled. "Then let's take it out."

Larrin scoffed and shook her head in disbelief. "Oh yeah Big'an'bad? How you plan on doing that? I've already lost my Aurora to that thing and I'm _not _sending anymore of my people against it."

John shook his head to Ronon and sighed. "We can't. Unless we could sneak a nuke on-board, _which_ is a complete suicide mission. Besides, with the Wormhole Drive we won't have to worry about the Wraith anymore."

Ronon seemed pissed, but kept quiet. Beside him, Dusty broke the silence. "What about all the people who don't join us?"

"I'm getting to that…" John understood that rank really didn't mean as much anymore, especially since he was taking the lead on this instead of Sam. He knew Sam must have been feeling resentful, but there were so many variables in his relationship with her that this seemed a trivial thing. "… I'm sending one of the ZPM's we've captured back to Earth."

Larrin instantly snapped. "What!? The hell are you doing that for!?"

"There's still a chance that the Wraith or Replicators can find the Milky Way… that Superhive probably has better engines than your average Hive and could probably make it across the void."

"I _lost_ over 200 people getting that ZPM!" Larrin was incensed. "I'm _not_ going to just give it up to the bastards who'd let us die!"

"Those _bastards_ are a _fraction_ compared to the number of people who'll die if the Wraith take Earth." John's reply was terse ad had an underlying rage, He could understand Larrin's position, but she sure as hell was going to understand his as well. "I'm sorry you lost those people… but Earth has over 6 billion men, women and children that don't even know about the Stargates! I'm sending this ZPM back so Earth can defend against _any_ potential invasion."

Larrin looked like she wanted to argue more, but John shot her a fierce look that held her tongue. She knew not to fight a battle she couldn't win and simply sat back down with a frustrated look. "Fine."

It was obvious she wasn't happy, but nobody there wanted Earth to be defenseless. The entirety of the IOA were a few hundred in total, and only the highest echelon had incited the rage in these men and women. Earth was a separate entity to the IOA in their minds.

John sighed again and continued. "Like I was saying. I'm sending one of the ZPM's back so Earth can power their defenses. Everyone who wants to go back can go in peace… Everyone else… well… you know the score. 500 million light years means it's probable that we'll never see Earth again."

It was finally said, this was a final decision and not to be taken lightly. Sam fought her wince at the thought and decided to make her stance clear… or at least make it appear that way. "I'm not going to lie… this is a big risk… I'm going because I came here to make sure Atlantis was safe… and that's what I'm going to do… I don't want anyone to stay because they feel forced to." She looked over to John who silently cursed the day he'd made this plan. "That being said… I'm very proud of you all. Everyone on this base has done an amazing job… and I can't hold it against anyone if they want to go home."

Chuck spoke up now, his voice almost offended. "You keep bringing that up. I think we _all_ know that Earth isn't an option for us anymore. We might have different reasons, but we're staying."

"I want them to be _good_ reasons…" John's voice was steel, his logic personal. "I want to make _damn_ sure that everyone who stays, stays because _they_ want to stay." It already hurt bad enough that Sam was here, John meant every word. He looked to those around and momentarily stared at each. "You don't have to tell me why you're staying… that's not what I'm asking… what I'm asking is that you ask yourself that question. I'm staying because I've got nothing left for me back home. I've dealt with all my issues there and I'm _never_ going back… so if you're staying… I want you to make a video… write a letter, hell, give someone your bank pin number for all I care… Just deal with your affairs back home so you don't leave _anything_ behind."

Sam thought about how hard it was for her to deal with what _she _was leaving behind, as did everyone in the room from Earth. "We'll send it all with the people who want to go home. I've set up a laptop in my office with a camera so you can record anything you need. I want each of you to send something back."

A fair proposal and the group nodded in agreement. John took the reins back and blew a hard breath. "Alright… now comes the hard part. I'm going to tell everyone else what we're doing and offer them the same we've offered you. I'm not expecting many people to join… but we need to move fast. With any luck we can take off tomorrow and get this whole thing over with."

The group agreed, and now John felt prepared to face his friends and comrades.

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	2. Chapter 2

Captain Cadman had been caught with her pants down… _literally._ She'd been in the process of getting changed in the locker room to respond to Major Lorne's call for assistance when the red bolt of Traveler Stunner knocked both the wind and consciousness from her. She was _very_ angry when she woke up, as someone had been _nice_ enough to put a pair of pants on her. (Thankfully her military issue boxers seemed undisturbed as was her sports bra so it was mostly anger from getting _caught_)

Waking up in the detainee tower, she'd quickly realized that they'd taken any weapons or even things that looked like weapons. The Travelers had obviously been planning this for awhile and knew what to do.

Most of the civilians were here, and as time went by more and more Marines were chucked in, stunned. Key faces were missing though, and Laura was worried that the Travelers had perhaps killed them.

So when she saw Sheppard help lug in a crate with MREs and other essentials, she was too shocked to try and talk to him.

It took a little questioning, but the bits and pieces people knew amalgamated into one coherent thought.

John Sheppard had mutinied, and taken over Atlantis alongside the Travelers… and from what it seemed, Samantha Carter had joined him. The reasons for which seemed… honorable. But there were people missing… presumably injured and being taken care of, but quickly paranoia was taking hold.

Laura didn't know what to think… and she was deep in thought when the doors to the large room opened and a dozen Traveler security guards entered, their weapons drawn. Behind them, John Sheppard, Sam Carter, and Kevin Marks entered.

No one had been really expecting this, but quickly people began to yell at their captors and it took the Travelers aiming their weapons to silence them. Major Teldy and the 2 other Majors of the base quickly took their stance as the leaders, and they faced off with John, Sam, and Kevin.

John stepped forward first, his face apologetic. "Listen up all of you! I know you're frightened… but you're in _no_ danger… The only reason you're all here is because I know a lot of you won't agree with me."

Major Teldy had taken great offense to being stunned like a common wraith victim. "You stun me and my men… you take this base… you're damn right we're not going to agree."

"That's why I'm here… I'm only going to tell you all this once…" John looked to his sides where Sam and Marks both gave him gentle nods. They'd gone this far and it had to continue. "We're going to be taking Atlantis away from Pegasus… a _long_ ways away. In all likelihood we're never going to see Earth again… but I'm not going to let the people on this base die at the hands of the Wraith and Replicators… you all included."

Major Teldy was a little surprised, but kept her composure. "What have you done with Caldwell and Lorne?"

"They're fine. We're going to be sending anyone who doesn't want to join us back to Earth since we have 3 ZPMs now… I'm not _asking_ anyone to stay… but if you hate the IOA as much as I do…. You're welcome to join us."

A murmur and stirring moved through the crowd. It was certainly a difficult question to answer. Sam moved forward and spoke now with conviction. "We're going to be sending you back to Earth first thing tomorrow… anyone who wants to stay has until then to decide." She made no mention of the Wraith in the skies above them. No sense to worry them about something the couldn't do anything about.

Major Teldy remained silent for a few moments, then looked to John. "As much as I might agree with you... you can't ask me to break my oath."

John nodded and sighed. "It's not easy… and I know I'm damned for it… You're a good soldier Major… and I'm sorry this had to go down like this,"

Teldy softened her gaze and knew that she couldn't betray what she'd spent years defending. She also understood why Sam was standing there… and why John seemed to defer to her even as he led the renegades. "Anything you want me to tell the folks back home?"

A moment of contemplation, and John nodded. "Yeah… _Uno Ab Alto_ and fuck the IOA."

As much as she wanted to disagree, Teldy couldn't help but feel sympathy.

-------------------------------

The entire renegade crew had finished filming and setting up their final affairs. Sam sat at her desk working furiously on her laptop combining it all to one external hard drive. She'd nearly cried again as she filmed a small clip for Cassie and begged her to forgive her for leaving. Half of Sam's estate would go to her, the other half to her brother Mark's kids in a college trust fund. Her personal items to the members of SG1.

Cassandra had long since become very independent, but Sam regretted that she wouldn't see her live the rest of her life. Sam had also brought her camera down and filmed Daniel even as he lay in bed… the man left his wide collection of artifacts and manuscripts to museums, His bank account to charity, and the few personal items to Teal'c and Jack… as well as a few minor oddities to Vala of all people.

John on the other hand had refused to film a damn thing. He'd put all his affairs in order that last day in DC so many months ago, and now the only thing he sent was a trio of letters. One to the General of the Air Force, one to the Commander in Chief, and another to Major General Jack O'Neill. Sam had tried to see what he'd written to Jack but John had encoded it using a personal password… a question that only he and Jack would know.

The others had filmed small videos for family, explaining that they needed to do this, and that they shouldn't worry about them… the IOA would probably never allow these videos to be seen… but it helped to assuage some of the fears the renegades had.

The Wormhole drive was being prepared now, it would require the hyperspace generators to be modified, and a good amount of the power grid to be redirected to the engines. Sam had contemplated helping, but with only offhand knowledge of what the drive actually entailed, she left it to Radek and Mila to work on.

John had stayed with Sam throughout the entire preparation, and now as they sat in her office while she compressed the video files, they talked about what they were going to do. "I'll still follow your lead… I might have planned this but…"

Sam scoffed softly and shook her head. "You still respect my _rank_?"

"Your experience…" John smiled, but it was a rueful smile. "When I came here I knew jack squat. All I really know is Pegasus and… "

Sam nodded. "…and I've had the experience dealing with completely unknown circumstances."

Shaking his head slightly, John blinked in confusion. "In not so many words."

A few snickers came out of Sam's mouth, a feeling she hadn't had in weeks. "It's ironic really… we really will be exploring… maybe we _should_ tell the SGC where we're going."

It wasn't something John wanted to do, but he knew that he owed Sam big time. "We could do that… maybe they'll work out a better hyperdrive and get to us in a year or two."

Seeing that he was compromising, Sam knew that it wasn't a smart idea. "No… if they find us they'll want to take the city and unless the IOA goes through a lot of changes… they'll still want to prosecute us… we can't tell them exactly where we're going… at least not yet."

Silence, neither could say anything to that understanding. It remained quiet in the room until Larrin blared over the intercom. _"Hey! You two done making out?"_

Neither was in the mood for games, and Sam was snippy with her reply. "_Not_ in the mood Larrin… what is it?"

"_Well someone got up on the wrong side of bed this morning…" _Sam shot a look to John, and seeing his dejected wince knew that Larrin knew. _"…some of your people in detention say they want to join. My people are bringing them up one by one. You'll see them?"_

Sam bit the inside of her lip before replying. "… Yes… send them one at a time to my office."

"_Will do…" _Larrin's voice faded as her communicator shut off. _"Chucky! Give me a status on those hives!"_

John rolled his eyes at Larrin's treatment of Chuck. Evidently, she was serious when she said her relationship with the Canadian was only a fling. "So a few…"

"How'd Larrin know about last night?"

Not expecting her to interrupt him so quickly, John simply answered what he knew. "… she had a guard outside my quarters… just in case one of those stragglers came after me… when I never showed she… asked questions…"

Sam blinked a few times staring at the man sitting across from her desk. She sighed suddenly and dropped her head. _"Shit."_

John held his tongue, his mental filter had been activated for a long time now and it was starting to grate on him. "I convinced her not to tell anyone… but I don't know who knows…" He looked at Sam with the apologetic face he'd have for days now. "…if it helps… you can tease her about Chuck."

Furrowing her brow, Sam asked not understanding the implication. "Excuse me?"

Sighing, John decided to use the same technique Chuck had used. "Uhh.. did you happen to see Larrin's pants?"

Narrowing her eyes, Sam recalled noticing it. "Uhh yeah. They were expedition…" Realizing what that meant, Sam's features widened in shock. "Wait… _What?! _ Are you serious!?"

Nodding, John motioned back to the control room. "… and now Chuck's wearing a pair of mine. He looks kinda like a clown."

As if hearing about Chuck getting laid wasn't shocking enough, the humor of thinking of the Canadian forced to wear John's size pants was too much and Sam palmed her forehead in disbelief while snickering.

She calmed down as she saw someone recognizable heading their way across the bridge from the control room. It was a bit of a shock to see this person in this context.

Larrin opened the door and gave John and Sam a slightly knowing smile. "Figured you'd wanna talk to her first."

John shifted his seat around and took a deep breath in. "Captain?

Laura nodded, and went right into it. "You saved my life Sheppard… and if the IOA hates you for it… then I guess I hate the IOA."

--------------------------

"My lord…. Ship repairs are almost complete… there is a problem however."

Todd growled and shook his head idly. "There always is."

Kenny scoffed, this superhive was certainly the most powerful thing ever created and if they had had it sooner… "The Asurans have regrouped. They have found our positions near Atlantis and seem to be preparing for an assault."

"Hmm… how much longer for the hyperdrive to come back online?"

"Approximately 12 hours… the human craft used a new form of plasma attack and we've had to rebuild the core… the Lantean Power Cores remain well charged."

Todd growled in pleasure. Perhaps this Hive wasn't all he envisioned, but certainly with the experience of fighting them in direct combat, the Hive would not fall prey to such tactics again. "Double the armor around them as well as our hyperdrive. The Lanteans may attempt another pinpoint strike."

Kenny nodded and bowed before leaving. The day of reckoning had arrived for Atlantis, and soon the Wraith would feed upon the galaxy of the ancestors… and their descendants.

------------------------------------

"There's no going back Captain… I want to make sure you understand this. 500 million light years is more than a hundred times further from Earth than we are already… even with a ZPM it would take 2 years o get home on Daedalus."

Laura nodded and sighed. "Like you said… it's not easy… but I can't help but question whether I'd be alive or not if the IOA were in charge here… and I sure as hell don't want to find myself taking orders from them."

Sam blew a hard sigh, she knew the answer, but to say it would sound bitter. "Let's just be glad we won't have to find out…" It was heartening to see that a few people had big enough hearts to agree with what they were doing… even if it meant giving up their lives back on Earth.

"Ma-am…?" Laura always kept her composure, and certainly her curiosity knew little bounds. "not to pry... but how long have you known about this plan dealy?"

Unable to resist, Sam almost snorted as she thought about it. "Ha… about a month… but I knew he was going to do something for since … I guess since we came back from our last trip to Earth…"

Laura nodded, but kept silent. She had seen things that perhaps had she known at the time of this plan she might question, but knew that Sam Carter was _not_ one to talk about personal stuff. "I guess I just didn't bother to see it… Sheppard did change when you guys came back." She didn't bother to mention that she'd noticed that _Sam_ had changed too.

"He did… we've all changed…" Sam sighed softly, rubbed the bridge of her nose, then motioned to Laura. "Get some sleep Captain… I get the feeling we're all gonna need it."

Laura took the hint and quickly got up. "Yes ma-am… if you don't mind… I'm gonna see what the Travelers have done to the Armory."

Leaving the room quietly, Laura wondered exactly what she was getting herself into. Atlantis had a lot of good memories… but at the same time it had some really bad ones too. Deep down Laura knew she could leave if she had to… but things just felt unfinished here and Laura hated leaving things like that.

She crossed the bridge and headed to the control room to inform Larrin of what she was doing. The Travelers continued to give her suspicious looks, but she cast it off realizing that of course they'd be wary of a soldier like her.

It came as a surprise to see Dr Esposito of all people seated next to Chuck going over some technobabble thing on the screen. "Rafaela? You too?"

The Portuguese Doctor turned to her friend and shrugged. "Long story… but I guess we'll have quite a while to talk about it."

Laura blinked a few times in confusion, then sighed. "Guess you're right… Just…" It was hard to imagine the Doctor had decided to leave Earth, she knew the woman had a large family. Pushing past though, Laura suddenly felt the need to talk to the man in charge. "well… we'll talk later… have you seen Sheppard or Larrin?"

Chuck hooked his thumb over his shoulder with a bit of a smile. "Larrin's in the Jumper Bay… and Sheppard's out on the balcony."

Esposito shuddered suddenly and shook her head to Laura. "I don't think you'll want to disturb the Colonel… I just talked to him and I think I might have struck a nerve…"

"Oh? What'd you say?"

Sighing, Esposito replied softly so only Chuck and Laura could hear. "I uhh.. I told him why I wanted to stay…" she paused a moment, now rapt in thought. "Doctor McKay might have been a little rude sometimes… but he always defended us to the IOA and… well… after the ascending machine mishap… he defended me personally. I owe it to him to see that the city stays safe."

Laura was lost for words. She had never even considered the idea that some people might want to stay out of a sense of honoring the dead. But it made sense…. It was why Marks had turned coat… and in many respects it was why she did. Laura didn't want anymore corpses on her conscience. "…I miss him too."

--------------------------------

Kevin wasn't expecting anyone to be on Daedalus apart from him. The entire crew was quarantined and as far as he knew, no one else would be remotely interested in the ship apart from Sam and John… and both of them were busy.

He'd wanted to clean up the mess in the bridge, broken consoles and panels that would take forever for him to fix on his own… if he even could.

So it surprised him to see a darker skinned woman sitting on the command chair, staring off into the distance of the fractured viewscreen. "Hello… and you are?"

The Woman turned her head to him and spoke softly. "Katana."

Marks recognized the name. "Katana? Aren't you a Traveler Captain?" She nodded, but the look of dejection was obvious. "… you were on the Aurora."

"Yeah… right before it blew up."

Marks had lost a ship before… he'd also lost a good friend that day in Colonel Pendergast. Sam had forced him to be objective that day and ever since he felt like he owed her… just another reason he was here now. "I'm sorry…"

Katana scoffed. "Why? Wasn't your fault."

"I mean I sympathize… I know what it's like to lose friends… lose a ship."

"Ha! You mean Asuras? I don't know whether to admire your people or hate them." Katana sniffled once out of anger. "You lose a ship… you build more… you lose people… you bring more…" She turned to face him angrily. "_we_ lose a ship… and we lose our home… _we _lose people… and our people are that much closer to extinction… How can you _possibly_ know what I'm feeling?"

Kevin sighed, and he sat down in his typical post at Weapons. He swivled the chair around and spoke quietly. "You're right… I don't know what that's like… but I've seen my friends… my _comrades_ get butchered in front of my face…Tomorrow… I'm saying goodbye to my planet and everyone on it… all my friends and family… everything… all I have left is this ship and anyone who stays…" It was a little harsher than he meant it to come out, but Kevin didn't care much at this point. "So I might not know what _your_ pain feels likes… but don't you _dare_ say it's worse than mine."

Katana always respected people that would argue effectively. It wasn't like her to sulk like this, but with so many of her closest friends and family dead, there wasn't really anyone to turn to. "You have family back on your planet?"

Kevin nodded, and he leaned forward with his elbows on his thighs. "A brother and a sister… most of my… _family… _is going back to Earth tomorrow."

"You think of your crewmates as family?"

"What else are they? We've been living and dying on this ship for 3 years now…" Marks gulped repressing his gasp. "…would have kept on living and dying if this hadn't happened."

Katana felt bad, for the second time she'd misjudged one of these Lanteans because she was so used to her own people. Something a lot of Travelers were guilty of. "Why are you staying?"

Marks took a few moments to consider how to put it. He finally sighed and looked around. "Because a lot of my friends died for this place… I'm not going to run away because it's getting tough… " He smiled ruefully. "Besides… a little sweeping, a little welding… maybe some help from your tech crews and I think we can make this bird battleworthy again."

Neither could resist the smile that came to them, and both realized they'd found a friend in an unexpected place.

-------------------------------

Jennifer awoke to a soft yet firm pillow under her head. She didn't even bother to open her eyes she was still so tired and simply cuddled again trying to get comfy. When an arm came around her she didn't question it right away, but in the truest sense of the double take, she realized that someone had just put their arm around her.

Jennifer flinched, and quickly rubbing her eyes she realized that she was still on that couch in the Infirmary. Ronon sat next to her with his shoulder acting as a pillow. "Hey."

Jennifer was awestruck. She'd woken up in Ronon's arms before, but usually that was when Jennifer had passed out on this couch and he was carrying her to her quarters to sleep. Never had she simply awoken _next _to him. "Ronon? Wha… what time is it?" A shrug was all Ronon could reply with. "How long have I been out?" Another shrug. "Do you know _anything?"_

Ronon chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Probably not."

Pouting irritatedly, Jennifer rubbed her eyes some more and forced herself to get up, She was surprised when Ronon pulled her back down. "Hey! What are you…?"

"_Reyna_ can take care of things… You need sleep and you're getting it." Ronon didn't make it a request.

Jennifer sighed and felt the exhaustion still in her body. It had gone beyond the capability of a good night's sleep. She needed a vacation in every sense of the word. "What I _need_ is a hypobaric chamber and Snow White's apple…" She saw Ronon's confused look, finally relented,... "Oh alright… but can I at least go to my quarters? Or are the Traveler's taking that as well?"

Ronon growled softly, and he shook his head. "in 15 hours Sheppard and Carter are dialing Earth and sending anyone who doesn't want to stay… this city is leaving the galaxy and won't see Earth ever again…"

Jennifer took a minute to digest what she'd just heard. Earwax could be a problem and she decided to make sure it wasn't at fault here. "Excuse me…?"

"You heard me… Anyone who wants to join us can… but we're leaving Earth behind,"

"Like… cutting contact? Going to the next galaxy?"

"More like 500 million light years."

Jennier only knew a little about astronomy and didn't bother trying to figure it out now. "Uhh… I'm guessing that's a long way away?"

"Sheppard did the math. It's 11 years away with Daedalus."

Jennifer's throat constricted, She knew how far _Pegasus_ was using Daedalus… but 3 weeks was nothing compared to 11 years. "…11 years…?! That's…"

"A long way away."

Jennifer was flabbergasted. What was Ronon…? "You're asking me whether I'm going to stay or go…" Ronon nodded gently. Jennifer rubbed her face and began to think about it.

She was only 24 years old. Most of her life had been spent in schools and universities. She'd fought hard to get to where she was in the medical world and defended it religiously. Atlantis had seemed like a fairy tale when she first arrived… but then everything began to fall apart… First Carson…. Then Dr Weir… Heightmeyer… people were just dying left and right and Jennifer was powerless to stop it.

She shouldn't have become the CMO… Carson and Weir could say all they wanted to… but she was just too young and inexperienced. But that's what got her into this mess in the first case, She was such a prodigy at medicine that… that it was only obvious for her to take over when Carson died.

She'd aged at this job. Her oath to do no harm and heal the sick had taken it's toll…She could feel the heavy bags under her eyes, the pressure her eyes were under from constant strain. Her hands had become calloused from handling so many medical tools.

Jennifer was drained, and as much as she'd like to stay in this fairy tale, it felt more like a Brother's Grimm story now. "I… I can't."

Ronon kept his arm around her and squeezed lightly. "It's okay you know? I…" he sighed and shook her a bit in consolation. "I'll miss you. You…you helped me when I really needed it… don't let anyone tell you you're too young… too naïve… you're smarter than that… and I know everyone else is going to miss you as well."

That only served to make Jennifer's thoughts harder. She'd been struggling to come to grips with all her thoughts… desires… needs… Now she was about to leave this place and put a dash to many of her hopes. "… I'm going to miss this place… and you…" she sniffled and leaned in to give the man a hug, uncaring of whoever saw her.

Ronon returned the hug, and forced his heart to harden just a little more. Jennifer had been a great help to him, and as odd as it sounded, taking care of her during the last few months where she would push so hard as to require him to carry her to her quarters… it helped to distract him from the horror taking place in the galaxy. "You've got 15 hours… maybe you should go get your stuff packed."

Jennifer nodded softly and dug her fingers into Ronon's shoulders. "Come with me?"

With a gentle move, Ronon helped Jennifer up and nodded. "Yeah… sure."

------------------------------------

Torren Rodney was still in the incubator, his breathing was a little erratic, but the Traveler doctors having had plenty of experience with population control were taking very good care of the lad. Teyla had quickly become good friends with Reyna, who took a personal interest in keeping the boy comfortable.

It was getting late in the day, and Teyla had been cooped up in the infirmary. It wasn't as bad as she thought it would be though, seeing Laura and Rafaela come by to visit was heartening, and Teyla couldn't help but smile when she saw Ronon lead Jennifer out with his arm around her.

Teyla knew that many people were going through very serious life changes right now. The Pegasus Galaxy was as good as finished. She wondered what had happened to all the cultures she knew, all the people she'd spent her life trading with… getting to know.

It wasn't long before she found herself sitting by Daniel's side, the Archeologist in good spirits despite everything. "How's the little guy?"

Teyla smiled and sighed. "Resting… as is most of the city. From what John has told me, the people who will be heading back to Earth tomorrow will be given a chance to take their personal belongings with them through the Stargate."

"That's good… I'm guessing Sam was the one to suggest that."

A chuckle left Teyla's lips and she knew it was the truth. "I would not be surprised." Teyla took a moment to herself to think. "Is there anything on Earth that you would have liked to bring?"

Narrowing his eyes, Daniel shrugged slightly. Even that hurt. "Well… other than a few tones of coffee to keep me going for a couple of weeks…" they both laughed at the thought. "…In all honesty… I'm going to miss the people more than anything else."

Teyla understood perfectly, she already missed so many people that she would never see again. "Tell me… I've heard from John that you and Samantha used to be a part of a team much like mine. Who were they?"

Daniel smiled as he reminisced. "Ahh yes… SG-1… seems like such a long time ago…" He took a second to collect his thoughts and turned to Teyla. "It's been a long ride… started ohh.. fourteen… almost fifteen years ago."

"Sounds like quite an adventure."

A bittersweet adventure thought Daniel. Earth had been kept safe, and the Jaffa had been freed. But so many people had died and suffered for it. He found himself thinking of Sha're for a moment… then looked to Teyla. "That it was… we're a long way from where we started."

Teyla shifted in her seat, picked up the tray of food next to the bed and put it between them. "We appear to have plenty of time… I would love to hear your story."

Daniel hadn't thought about it in years. The Stargates had become a fact of life for him and to think of a less jaded, young, physically weak, and maybe even naïve Daniel of years past… he wondered what would have become of him if things had gone differently. "Well… it starts a long time ago… in a galaxy far far away."

Teyla rolled her eyes and shook her head idly. "You are _not_ Luke Skywalker."

Taking it in stride, Daniel gave her a pleading face. "Oh you've seen them?"

"John has often compared our people."

Daniel laughed, it seemed like such a Sheppard move from what he saw of the man. "So I'm not even Obi Wan?"

They chuckled at the thought, and Teyla deadpanned mimicking Daniel. "Perhaps in Attack of the Clones."

"So a cautious master who manages to get himself into trouble no matter what?" Daniel took a second to compare their situations, saw the repressed laugh in Teyla's throat, and rolled his eyes. "Alright alright… at least I get to grow into a wizened old man." Teyla couldn't resist and laughed, Daniel couldn't help but feel warmed by the sound. "Anyways… I guess Sam was Princess Leia and Jack was Han Solo… Teal'c was definitely Chewy… Jonas was C3PO and R2D2's love child from what I've seen and heard of him…"

-------------------------------------------


	3. Chapter 3

"_Chupame Puto!_"

Drake chuckled and puffed some smoke back at Alicia. "Well _Popusis mi kurac krasni!_"

Both soldiers laughed at their insults, they'd been arguing over what they were going to find in the next few days and quickly came to verbal blows. Neither understood the other but the _come hither_ looks they drunkenly gave each other warned Dusty that this was a funny scene.

The cigars and 2 bottles of liquor they'd imbibed littered the floor of the mess hall didn't help any as far as looking sane. Dusty sat next to them rolling her eyes, her medication keeping her from joining in. "Oh please… get a room already."

Alicia laughed openly and shrugged off the comment. "He wishes!"

Drake, unwilling to let his manhood be ripped out from under him held his glass up. "Damn straight!"

The Travelers around the mess hall getting used to the large open spaces gave them strange looks, but decided to give the warriors their room. The way Alicia now challenged Drake to an armwrestle with Dusty refereeing was just a _little_ crazier than they were used to.

-----------------------------------------

John stood on the edge of balcony and couldn't shake the feeling. All he wanted to do was scream and kick and yell. This wasn't what was supposed to happen… his family wasn't supposed to break apart like this.

Esposito had made it clear to him. She was staying because she felt like she could make a difference here… and Rodney had given her that opportunity.

It didn't surprise him that Sam was the one to come find him. Everyone else was busy… everyone else didn't have the same guilt he had. "Hey…"

She took a position near him, staring out into the ocean where coral reefs and schools of fish swam by the shield. "Hey…" A few moments of silence, and Sam broke with an awed voice. "I've never seen the ocean like this before… it's eerily beautiful."

John nodded and sighed. "Yeah… only seen it twice myself. Once when we first came and… again when we sunk the city to try and escape the Asuran gate beam weapon." He stared out and after a moment pushed ahead. "Esposito joined us… so did 3 other civilians…"

Sam nodded and took a deep breath. It was odd seeing as they were several hundred meters deep. "I know… I saw them inside…" It was obvious something was bothering John, and Sam thought she knew what it was. "Esposito told me why she's staying…" It had only been 2 days since they'd last seen Rodney. Things were happening so fast that it was moments like these when she realized that her problems were only a part of the entire cities.

"… She's staying because of Rodney… because Rodney wouldn't send her away…"

John's voice was wavering, and Sam knew that if he didn't have that rock solid psyche he had, he'd be crying. She knew the two men were close… but it wasn't till now that she realized something. "… I miss him… I never thought I'd ever say it but I guess in my own way…I loved him too." She couldn't just _tell_ John that she knew he loved him, it would have been awkward and incredibly forward. Proculus was an exception… and she needed to let John know that she was feeling his pain even from 3 feet away and his back turned.

"…You met my real brother… no one else on this goddamn base ever has or will… who do you think I'd rather have relied on?"

Sam's mouth opened slightly. John's words implied something she'd only thought of in passing before. She understood it was a rhetorical question and just stared out into the ocean. All she wanted to do was hug him again, but there were so many feelings that she just didn't have it in her… not yet.

John wanted to hug her as well, but the feelings in his head were so mixed. He didn't know where his own feelings began and the feelings left over from Rodney's sharing ended.

Sam waited a few seconds before speaking again. "Radek says he has something important to tell us… Larrin and Marks are waiting."

John nodded and blew a long sigh. He rubbed his face and then turned. Sam noted with a small sense of sympathy that even though he wasn't crying, his eyes were definitely bloodshot.

---------------------------------

"You've got to be kidding."

Radek shook his head, Mila to the side looked pretty depressed as well. "No… we have run every simulation we could think of… We need sixty five percent of the energy from the shields in order to power the wormhole drive in addition to the ZPM's full output."

Larrin shook her head idly and groaned. "So the city'll only have thirty five percent power to the shields? How the hell are we supposed to hold them off long enough _especially_ if they have that Superhive?"

Mila shook her head and sighed. "You don't get it… The shields will be just as strong as ever… but they'll only cover the main tower and a few of the side towers. Atlantis's shield works differently than ours... and we can't hook our generators up to the shield because they can't put out enough power to keep them up!"

Sam winced and sighed. "She's right… the rate of flow from even a dozen generators doesn't match a ZPM. The generators can't produce enough power fast enough to keep the shield up with no incoming fire… let alone that Superhive…"

John raised his eyebrows. Seeing the dejected look on Sam's face, he knew it was as bad as he thought it was. "Wait… you mean that once you start the Wormhole Drive up… more than half the city'll be exposed?"

Sam nodded, her throat suddenly becoming very dry. "The Piers… including some of the central towers would be exposed to space. We can fit everyone in the main towers… but we'd have no protection for the rest of the city."

Rubbing his forehead, John leaned over onto the conference room table. Nobody said anything because everybody knew what it meant.

Closing her eyes, Sam thought about every possible solution. If you eliminate the impossible… whatever's left, however improbable has to work… "… We could try and distract them with your ships… Set them on Autopilot."

Larrin grimaced and cursed under her breath. "… Those hives would tear through them like a plasma torch through flesh… they'd probably just ignore them actually and go straight for the city."

It was a long shot anyway, and Sam wasn't about to argue. "Maybe we can fire off what nukes we have… give us some cover…" she turned to Radek. "How long would it take for the Wormhole Drive to activate?"

Radke narrowed his eyes and looked to Mila, they both nodded gently concurring with some unspoken communication. "Once Atlantis reaches a stable orbit… we would need to divert all power except for life support and the small bit of shielding left to the drive. It will take approximately 3 minutes in total once we're in orbit."

"4 minutes to reach orbit… that means 7 minutes we're a target…" John stated it as fact, something everyone was worried about. "That's too long… even if we fire every last drone we had the city would get torn apart. Can't we extend the Traveler ships shielding or something? Come on! Star Trek did it!"

Both Sam and Radek rolled their eyes. It had been awhile since someone compared them to Star Trek and it was always annoying. "Theoretically yes… practically? It would only cover the piers with a minute amount of shielding compared to Atlantis's shield. The Wraith would likely target exposed areas to try and disrupt the power grid."

John groaned and curled his fists. He hadn't striven this far just to get beaten by physics. "There's gotta be a way… we've got to hold them off for 7 minutes… 12 hives… too bad Daedalus is out of commission… give them something to shoot at."

For the longest time, Sam had always questioned why she had a thing for the lunatic fringe. Jonas Hansen had it… Jack had it… certainly John had it… something about lunatics and the letter J just got her spine shivering. Nevertheless, Sam never thought that the reason was that _she_ was in there as well, and thinking what she was thinking, certainly lunacy was a possibility. "…There _is_ something.. or rather some_one_ they can shoot at…" her eyes widened as she looked to Marks who remained silent off to the side. She then turned to John who had noticed the odd exchange.

The Lieutenant Colonel could see the insanity in her eyes. He had gotten the same look from McKay so many times before being saved by some scientific tomfoolery. He put two and two together and deadpanned. "…You're a _freakin'_ _genius!_"

The others in the room were surprised by his compliment, and Sam simply laughed at herself. "Only if it works… we'll need to…"

John nodded already knowing what she was going to say. "…it's already working… had to keep in contact with Daedalus…"

"… can only hope they get here in time…'

The speed at which they finished each other's sentences was alarming, and Larrin cut in with a terse voice. "Whoa whoa whoa… Wait just a minute! What the hell are you two talking about?"

John turned with Sam and as one spoke. "The Asurans."

-----------------------------

Chuck was hesitant to hit the 'Transmit' button. This was by far the most _insane_ thing he'd ever done. Forget trusting Larrin when she said she used birth control, making an intergalactic call to a race of machines that wanted to wipe them from existence to _'ask for help'_ was his new number one 'this cannot end well' moment.

Finally forcing himself, he tapped the button. The subspace signal was sent out and it would only be time before the Asurans picked it up. The ships were still scattered, but all within hours of Atlantis should they come at full speed.

Sam took a few deep breaths and prepared to negotiate in what was likely the worst position imaginable. John stood behind her and to the right, with Larrin sitting behind them. Major Marks had gone to the Daedalus to sleep for the night.

"You think they'll respond?"

Sam shrugged at Larrin's question. "Worth a try… at least they'll know we're here."

There wasn't much more that could be said, but when a reply began to transmit in Chuck's voice raised an octave. "We've got contact… it's an Aurora…"

The screen faded from a staticy blur into a recognizable face. It surprised everyone when John seemed to bristle and instantly fell back away from the camera breathing heavily. Sam turned for a moment, and had to make the hard decision to stay and speak to the replicator instead of consoling her friend. "Oberoth… I don't think we've met."

The Asuran raised an eyebrow in surprise. "No… but I know all I need to know. You are Samantha Carter. Doctor McKay had many rather interesting things to say about you."

Every Atlantean in the room tensed and felt the adrenaline pulse. Larrin on the other hand had decided to trust Sam and moved off to follow John who had run off so suddenly. Sam gritted through what she knew had been done to Rodney and spoke tactfully. "I can imagine… I'm calling you because I want to negotiate."

"There is nothing to discuss. As long as you remain in control of Atlantis there is a threat of the Wraith taking it and spreading."

Sam cocked her head. "Well that's just it. We're under siege as we speak. The Wraith are holding just outside our weapons range and probably waiting for their superhive."

Oberoth narrowed his eyes, fierce in his posture. "A shame for your people. If the Wraith discover Avalon, it will have to be purged as well."

Fear suddenly shook Sam's mind, and she managed to keep her voice from sounding too fearful. "Do you know where my Home Galaxy is?"

Oberoth seemed a little surprised, but didn't make it an issue. "You are as bold as Doctor McKay seemed to think… No… the Lanteans never saw fit to give us that information. If the Wraith find it, we would simply follow them."

Sam gulped, and dropped her head hoping to look shameful. "If that's the case… then I'm willing to surrender Atlantis. You've already wiped most of Pegasus clean and we have all that's really left."

"You are more reasonable than Doctor Weir… it appears your people are not as barbaric and primitive as I thought. But you will _not_ remain in Pegasus… Any chance for the Wraith to spread must be contained."

That was the hint, Sam knew what she needed and goading was all that was left. "Then I propose a trade… We're under siege and need help to defeat the Wraith. Their Superhive is on it's way here and could easily defeat us without support. All the Wraith we know about are here as well… if you muster your fleet and help us defend the city… we'll give it to you peacefully and never come back."

Oberoth seemed to ponder for a few moments. Whatever he thought with must have been hard at work. "You have stolen Potentia in Atlantis correct?"

Sam nodded. "I think that's what's keeping the Wraith at bay… but the Superhive is strong enough to take whatever we throw at it."

"Yes… we have lost 6 of our craft to it as well. I have 14 left… but if as you say you will leave and abandon Atlantis to us… we will agree to your terms under the condition that you do not take the potentia with you. All Lantean and Asuran technology you have usurped will remain here along with your data storage devices."

Sam had expected Oberoth to say as much. Under no other circumstances would she _ever_ agree to such an unfair trade. "Very well… we could use the support as soon as possible."

Oberoth leaned forward and gave a menacing look. "If any of your people think otherwise. I will think nothing of it to purge you all."

Showing her determination, Sam spat back. "And I don't care if you kill us all! I'm _not_ letting the Wraith get to my home!"

Now Oberoth plainly showed surprise. "You are much stronger than I had anticipated. Very well. My ships are enroute. Any deception on your part will result in your deaths."

The screen turned off, and Sam breathed a huge sigh of relief. The Auroras would arrive within the day, hopefully before the Superhive. Chuck leaned over to look her in the face as she breathed heavily. "Ma-am…?"

Sam waved his concern off. Truth be told she felt like puking, but she couldn't let anyone see her like that. "I'm good… just… never thought I'd ever have to say that… not again." Ironically, the only person who knew what she was talking about was probably sleeping by now. Major Marks had been there with her staring down the barrel of several Ori Pulse weapons.

Chuck was confused, but knew better than to pry. "Guess we're really 'tween a rock and a hard place now."

Sam laughed at his analogy and took a deep calming breath. "Good thing we have a wormhole drive or we'd be screwed."

------------------------------

Larrin gave John's shoulder a squeeze and then wrapped an arm around him. The Balcony was a private place, but Sam had been able to guess he'd head here.

Sam watched as Larrin rubbed John's back trying to console him. It wasn't long ago that she was in the same position, and even though she rationally knew it was illogical, Sam still felt a little jealousy that John was drawing comfort from Larrin.

It wasn't easy to think about these things. Sam wasn't really sure _where_ her life was heading, After learning about Chuck and Larrin, she'd asked Reyna the Traveler Doctor about Traveler culture and etiquette when it came to… well… Sam had tried to broach the subject softly and Reyna had just laughed.

The Travelers saw sex as just a physical thing as normal as a hug. Reyna made it clear that even though it was a more liberal culture, only people who spent a lot of time together ever got comfortable enough to have sex without the aspects of a relationship.

The population control only made it easier in some respects. Sex wasn't about propagating the species… it was more for comfort, entertainment, and something to keep occupied in the deep recesses of space. Reyna had calmly told a bewildered Sam that she herself had platonic sexual relationships with 3 different men… but all were men that she'd known her whole life and trusted with that same life.

Sam didn't know what to think after that. The Traveler culture was so different and… and she couldn't help but think of how liberating it might be. But her rational mind wouldn't give in, and Sam knew that even though it was intriguing, Sam would never think like that.

But John…?

She'd spent the next few hours wandering around. Unable to sleep, unable to think. Sam wanted company, so she'd silently watched different people in different situations.

Radek and Mila were still in the ZPM room tweaking everything they could… the young Traveler girl had smiled and quickly brought Sam up to speed on the situation. Sam appreciated the innocence the girl had despite everything and wished she could be like her again.

Next she visited the infirmary, and found Daniel and Teyla in the middle of a storytelling. She couldn't help but laugh as Daniel mentioned something about finding Cameron with no pants on in a motel. Sam had then teased Daniel about a similar incident in Jack's office after defeating the Replicators.

Teyla had warmed to Sam much more. Perhaps the fact that Sam had gone against her orders… whatever it was, Teyla smiled and gave Sam a close up look of her new son and a hug before she left.

Sam considered going to the detainee tower… but knew it would only depress her further… and that left only one place to go.

She had no idea whether he was alone in there… for all Sam knew, she was about to interrupt John in the middle of hot Traveler sex… that would certainly scar her tough mental psyche.

The tone sounded once, and it wasn't long before John appeared at the door. His eyes were bloodshot and he was still in his uniform. He looked at Sam in surprise, but it was obvious he was glad to see her.

Sam kept her voice soft, and felt relief that he was alone. "Hey… I uhh… I wanted to see how you're doing… you kinda ran off…" John remained silent, just staring back at her. His gaze was so powerful that Sam had to keep talking to keep from panicking. "It uhh… it worked… Chuck estimates 16 hours for the Asurans to arrive. Daedalus's scans and our knowledge of Wraith hives say the Superhive'll be on their heels."

John nodded softly, relief that the insane plan seemed to be working. He opened his mouth to speak, but then he shut it and looked away.

"You wanna talk?"

John shook his head, and closed his eyes. Before Sam could really react he took a step forward and took her in his arms. Sam could feel him sobbing softly, and wrapped her own arms around him once more. _"Don't go…"_

Sam furrowed her brow and wondered what John meant as he muttered into her neck. "What?"

"_Stay…_ don't go Sam…"

His hands tugged at her, his face rubbing the exposed skin of her neck. "…John… i… I thought we agreed…"

John shook his head vehemently. He knew what Sam was thinking. "No… no Sam…i… I'm not asking you for that…" John could tell from her tense body and nervous tone that she was worried. All he wanted was friendship… and someone who knew the pain he now carried.

Sam took a few seconds to think. It had been awkward the night before when she'd asked him for this, but now it seemed different… can a person get used to this sort of thing? Sam didn't really think she wanted to know but… "…You really want me to stay?"

She felt the man nod and pull her in tighter. "I… yeah… yeah I want to you stay… _please_ Sam."

Very rarely did John ever plead. He'd begged for her to let him go look for Elizabeth… something she'd have to say no to. He'd implored her to stay silent about his shared trauma with Rodney… something she'd agreed with.

Now he was pleading for her to stay with him. To derive some comfort from her shared presence…something that Sam herself wanted. "…Okay… I'll stay…just…" she stopped, and took a moment to buck up the courage to say what she wanted to say.

John was just relieved that Sam was here for him… he replied softly. "…just…?"

"Don't kiss me…don't… just don't kiss me okay?" He looked her in the eyes, confused but at the same time relenting. "…tonight… I mean… _this… this_ is just… _relief_… we… we need to talk and……"

"… I…" John's hand came up and cupped her cheek. "I dunno…"

Sam flinched away and gasped, but didn't squirm away. "_No…_ no I… don't… _please_… _don't touch me like that._"

His hand stayed for a second, and then he receded. "I… I don't know what to..."

"… it's not you John… _I… it's just… if you touch me…_" John couldn't think of how to reply. It was a seriously confusing moment. "…_i might not stop you… and I can't have that_… _not yet…_" Sam sighed, even now she was still wishing that circumstances were different… and another man were here… and she hated that she was putting them both through this. "…_ maybe not ever_."

It was a confusing situation for John. All he really wanted was company and well… his mind and body were of two different trains of thought. With Sam pressed up close to him his body reacted even though his mind wasn't… She didn't pull away though, and feeling her head on his shoulder he knew that she wanted comfort as well.

John didn't know what to think now. Sam wasn't lying and her holding onto him was proof enough. Yet again, he'd have to settle for only knowing what would happen in the next few hours instead of long term things. "…Okay…"

Sam sighed softly, and let her body relax onto his. She wanted this comfort as much as he did and it came much easier this time… maybe clearing up that this was just relief… just comfort in this dark hour made things lighter. Even as John pulled her onto the bed, she didn't feel nearly as awkward sa the night before.

Both kicked off their shoes, and within moments they'd found a position they were comfortable in. Sam settled in and shivered as she felt John's hands pull her in close for a tight cuddle.

Sam hated herself for doing this, but suddenly feeling much better from the heat in John's chest… maybe someday she'd get over the loss tomorrow would bring…but it wouldn't be soon… and Sam worried that it might never come.

--------------------------------------

_A.N: All set up now…all that's left is the last episode titled "Universe" It's pretty straight forward… and has an ending that even though it's quite obvious… there's a twist that just might bring a tear to your eye._

_I know the ending to this episode is similar to the last episode, but the opening of the finale explains why (there actually IS a reason!) Also, every character will have their moment. (That's EVERY character, not just Sam/John.)_

_As far as potential continuation of this series, my idea would be a mix of both SGA and SG1's earlier seasons. It would focus on things that haven't been seen in Stargate very often, and it would definitely be darker than SGA and SG1 while maintaining the Humor, Action/Adventure, as well as exploration aspect that Stargate was before it became what it is today, with a mix of the space battles of doom that everyone seems to like (gotta have those!) There would be a lot more character focus though, and the ramifications of the events of this series._

_It would be a separate entity from SGU though, and even incorporates that mythology and plot, the one person I've told something of my idea to says it's good, but I'm still cautiously wary._


End file.
